Oil traded near a four-month high in New York, narrowing its discount to Brent crude to the least since September, after the expansion of a pipeline that may reduce a glut in the U.S. Midwest.
Crude for February delivery rose as much as 73 cents to $94.29 a barrel and was at $93.80 in electronic trading on theNew York Mercantile Exchange at 9:01 a.m. London time. Volume for all contracts was 11 percent higher than the 100-day moving average. Prices climbed 0.5 percent last week.
Brent for February settlement was at $110.91 a barrel, up 27 cents, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The number of contracts changing hands was 32 percent higher than the 100-day average. The European benchmark contract was at a premium of $17.09 to WTI. It settled at $17.08 on Jan. 11, the narrowest gap based on closing prices since Sept. 19.